Camping Out: Killingly's Grimes coming into his own

Thursday

D.J. Grimes had to wait in both his freshman and sophomore seasons although not as long as Killingly coach Chad Neal may have liked.

Confidence comes as you grow older.

Confidence happens when someone puts his or her trust in you.

Confidence grows as you honor that trust with a good performance.

But it takes a while for those things to all come together. For a quarterback, good things sometimes come to those who wait.

D.J. Grimes had to wait in both his freshman and sophomore seasons although not as long as Killingly coach Chad Neal may have liked.

Grimes was thrust into a starting role midway through the season as a freshman when Kyle Fortin was injured.

The two of them battled for the spot again last season — Fortin again won out— but as happened the year before, the senior injured his shoulder midway through the season and was gone for the remainder of the year.

“It really wasn’t his team until that point,” Neal said. “It’s tough coming in like that in the middle of the season and taking over a team.”

Still, the results weren’t all that bad as Grimes sports a record of 5-6 in the games he has started in the last two seasons.

But things have changed in Danielson and Grimes is now the top man on the depth chart.

“This is his team,” Neal said. “His confidence has got to be there, he knows that, he knew that since the end of last year. This is your team and you have to work hard over the summer. It’s like being the No. 1 pitcher, the guy you’re going to give the ball to in the big game.”

Grimes said he hopes the players are looking at him a little differently. He said he has grown, both physically and mentally, and that should give him the ability to compete better.

Putting the work in

And he has worked on his game.

“I went to the Yale camp, they helped me with my mechanics and throwing technique,” the junior said. “I’ve been working out with my teammates trying to get bigger, faster and stronger.”

Apparently, that work has paid off.

“He throws well,” said receiver Drew Wilcox who is likely to be a favorite target of Grimes thanks to his 6-foot-1-inch frame. “It’s on target most of the time, he throws a lot better than he did as a sophomore and, hopefully, we can step our passing game up this year.”

Grimes has impressed not only his receivers with his passing skills, but also opposing coaches. TourtellotteEllis Tech coach Tim Panteleakos saw Grimes play during the summer passing league in Danielson and thought highly of the Killingly quarterback.

“The passing league helped me, because I had never really done it before,” Grimes said. “It got me used to playing in real situations.”

It also helped establish Grimes as a team leader, an important step for a quarterback, especially one who is not a senior.

“He makes the offense go with his play fakes and footwork, but also his leadership in the huddle,” Neal said. “This is his team. When he’s out there, there’s no coaches, he has to be able to take over the team.”

That shouldn’t be a problem.

Earning respect

“He’s one of the few juniors that you see who has the respect of the upperclassmen and everyone around him,” Neal said. “The kids tend to gravitate toward him and follow him. He has that natural character, ability and leadership.”

He won’t be able to rest on his laurels, however, as Neal plans to push him in practice, working one-on-one with him when necessary. He also has another quarterback-in-training, Jeremy Rodriguez, ready to take the helm if necessary.

“He has the inner aptitude to push himself, he’s an honors student, a good basketball player; he wants to succeed,” Neal said.

The coach said Grimes is not a proto-typical, pocket-type quarterback as he will have to be unleashed a bit more. Neal may utilize the shotgun more to take advantage of his athleticism and may let him run more a la Spencer Beaudreault of Windham and Sean Brackett of Griswold.

“I’ve never actually seen him run,” Wilcox admits, “but, I know he can. If it’s open, he’ll take it.”

He’s also done something that’s of vital importance to the health of every quarterback, he’s established a good rapport with his offensive line.

“I trust them because I’m close to all of them,” Grimes said. “Gary Kelley is a good friend, I trust him and my center, Andrew Whitehead. I trust them all, because I have to. I had better or they’re not going to block for me.”

Spoken like a true quarterback.

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